Polygamy & Utah`s Struggle for Statehood

Polygamy & Utah’s
Struggle for
Statehood
Objective: Students will understand the problems facing Utah in the late 19th
century and the process (and eventual success) of Utah’s struggle for
statehood.
Why Become a state?
• Rights of citizenship
• Represented in the government
• Elect their own leaders
• Pay taxes
• Receive government services
• Freedoms of citizenship
What problems got in the way
of Utah and STATEHOOD?
• POLYGAMY
• Size and borders of the territory
• Tensions with Native Americans
• POLYGAMY
• Church and State
• Slavery (prior to the Civil War)
• POLYGAMY
• Political Parties
• Tensions with the U.S. Government- Rebellion & Military issues
If you had to draw the boundaries for
your own state, what would you make
sure was inside of it?
Brainstorm and think of the vital resources, geographical
features you would want to make sure were part of your
state.
Utah Territory
State of Deseret?
• Deseret: honeybee/bee hive
• Word from Book of Mormon
• Brigham Young wanted the land to
be dedicated
• Term to inspire Mormons to be a
productive, hard-working
community, like a beehive. Industry!
• State covered 16% of the nation,
larger than Texas & Alaska
Native Americans
Look at the picture on page 127 in your Utah history textbook
-Who are the different people in the cartoon?
-What is the cartoonist trying to say about each group?
-Why would this be a problem for Utah's pending statehood?
Discussion
• List 5 qualities you think every good American should have.
• Discuss with your partner and come up with your top 3
qualities.
Polygamy
• Definition of polygamy: the practice of having
more than one wife at a time.
• The Mormon church publicly announced the
doctrine of plural marriage in August 1852
Reasoning
• The Mormons defended that their reason for practicing plural
marriage included:
•
•
•
God had commanded the reestablishment of the sacred practices of the
Israelite patriarchs and kings
Repopulation of the Earth
A commandment from God
• Mormon Church’s Official reasoning:
•
“In this dispensation, the Lord commanded some of the early Saints to
practice plural marriage. The Prophet Joseph Smith and those closest to
him, including Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball, were challenged by
this command, but they obeyed it. Church leaders regulated the practice.
Those entering into it had to be authorized to do so, and the marriages had
to be performed through the sealing power of the priesthood. In 1890,
President Wilford Woodruff received a revelation that the leaders of the
Church should cease teaching the practice of plural marriage.”
– mormon.org
How many practiced
polygamy?
• Mormons claimed only a small number of men were
polygamous in the 1880’s.
• Mormons insisted that only about 2-3 percent were
polygamous.
• Other evidence shows most likely about 20-30 percent
were.
• Marriage numbers did recede during the 1870-1880’s,
because of governmental pressure.
Federal Reaction to Polygamy
• 1869 Gave women in Utah the right to vote
• The Edumnds-Tucker Act (1887)
o 1) Required plural wives to testify against their husbands
o 2) Took away the vote form Utah's women
o 3) Abolished the local militia
o 4) Confiscated the property of the LDS Church.
Prison Time
• If someone was caught
the punishment could be
the following:
• 5 years in prison
• $500 Fine
• Eventually Mormons
realized they needed to
fall in line with the
government. Mormon
church President John
Taylor stated that the
Mormons would follow
constitutional law.
Except for the antipolygamy Edwards act.
• Over 1000 polygamists
were put in prison.
Discussion
• According to our standards, would polygamists be considered
good Americans?
• How much can a person or group be different and still be
considered a good American?
Stereotypes
• Throughout the United States
polygamy was viewed as rampant.
(people thought everyone in Utah was
doing it)
• People heard of men having 20-50
wives an that wives were forced to be
slaves to the men.
• People began to feel hatred and
disdain towards members & Utahns.
Journal Write
150 words
• Would you be willing to share your spouse, or take a
second, third, etc.. Spouse? What might be some of
the advantages and disadvantages? Under what
circumstances, if any, would you be willing to practice
polygamy? Explain
POLYGAMY Video
• Watch the video: Utah’s Struggle for Statehood &
Answer the questions: #13-26
Tensions with U.S.
Government
• “Utah War”-series of armed confrontations
between Utahns & the Federal Government
from May 1857 to July 1858.
• Not a true “war.” There were no official
battles
• President Buchanan heard rumors of a
supposed “rebellion” in Utah, sent Colonel
Johnson’s Army to put an end to it.
• War was avoided. Tensions eventually died
down.
• Mountain Meadow’s Massacre- September
1857
• Due to massive war hysteria & fear of
outsiders, Utahns attack and kill 120 people in
a wagon train headed West.
Steps to Statehood: Join
National Parties
• In the Utah territory most Mormons voted the same. Why would
they vote the same?
• Many Mormons lost the right to vote because of Federal laws
against polygamists.
• In order to fall in line with the rest of the nation the LDS church
encouraged it’s members to join one of the two national parties.
• 1892: First two party elections held in Utah
• 1893: Bill written to admit Utah into the Union passes in Congress
Steps to Statehood:
End Polygamy
• The Manifesto
• Statement made by the
Mormon 1st presidency
and quorum of the
twelve in 1890, ending
any new polygamous
marriages.
I publicly declare that my advice to the Latterday Saints is to refrain from contracting any
marriages forbidden by the law of the land.
-Wilford Woodruff, President of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Steps to Statehood:
apply AGAIN
• 1895 - Delegates attend Utah Constitutional
Convention
• The new constitution was put up for a vote and was
accepted in a vote of 31,305 to 7,687.
Author’s of Utah’s
Constitution
Party
59
Republicans
48
Democrats
Age
24-76
Occupation
28 Farmers & Ranchers
15 Lawyers
13 Merchants
8 Mining Businessmen
6 Educators
5 Churchmen
4 Newspapermen
3 Bankers
3 Builders
Others, including a Photographer, a
blacksmith, a clerk, a mason, a
brewer and a druggist.
Birthplace
Religion
47 Other
79 Mormons
Territories or 2 Catholics
States
1 Episcopal
Minister
37 Foreign
1 Jew
Countries
1 Methodist
28 Utah
Territory
Draw some conclusions.
Identify what were some of the prominent jobs of those who
wrote the Constitution.? What does that say about the values
of Utah?
JANUARY 4, 1896
• Utah becomes the 45th State!
Timeline
• 1850: Utah First applies for statehood. It is denied.
• 1850: U.S. Congress establishes Utah territory. Brigham
Young is appointed the first governor.
• 1852: The L.D.S. Church officially announces the practice
of polygamy, when one man is married to multiple women.
• 1857-1858: “Utah War” begins. Johnston’s federal armies
are sent from the east. Mountain Meadows Massacre
• 1861: Outbreak of the Civil War in the South. Johnston’s
army leaves Utah.
Timeline Continued
• 1869: Utah’s women gain suffrage (the right to vote).
In 1887 it is taken away until the 19th amendment
allows all women to vote.
• 1887: Edmunds Act passes in Congress. Polygamist
arrests intensify and many husbands go into hiding.
• 1890: The Manifesto, issued by Wilford Woodruff
(President of the L.D.S. Church), ended the practice of
plural marriage.
• 1896: Utah becomes the 45th state!
First State Capital
Fillmore, Utah
State Capital Today
• Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah’s Constitution
• Preamble
• 24 articles
• Rights
• Obligations
• Laws
First State
Government
• Governor: Heber M. Wells
•
•
•
•
•
Directs state government
Commander in chief of the national guard
Present bills to the legislature
Signs or vetoes bills
Pardon people convicted of crimes
• County
• Taxes, elections, carry out laws
• City
• Offer services such as streets, parks, water, and
sewage
• Mayor and city council
Utah and United States
Governments
• Both Utah and America
have governments based on
Checks and Balances
• There are three branches of
Government in the state
and federal governments
• The Executive, Legislative, and
Judicial
Executive Branch
• Governor: Gary Herbert
• Lieutenant Governor: Greg
Bell
• The Executive
administers the laws
• Who leads the executive
branch in the United States
government?
The Legislative
Branch
• Write the laws
• The House of
Representatives
• elected by population
• The Senate
• 2 for each state
Judicial Branch
• Courts and Judges
• Apply and interpret the laws